


Cross my Heart

by Espresso_Yourself



Series: At the Crossroads [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Coffee Shops, Crossword Puzzles, Crush at First Sight, Crushes, Falling In Love, Love at First Sight, M/M, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 04:44:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9055888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Espresso_Yourself/pseuds/Espresso_Yourself
Summary: A tag-along fic to "At the Crossroads", a multichapter about the turbulence of Nagisa's life as he falls for lawyer Rei.Not-so-recently dumped attorney Rei Ryuugazaki is ready to discard his broken heart, no thanks to his family's constant prying. He's certainly not someone to believe in something as ridiculous as "fate", but there's something about a rainy evening, the logic of crosswords, and a man that against all odds, he finds himself powerfully drawn to...A Christmas gift to my most supportive readers <3





	

On a grey day like this, Rei could hardly pull himself away from his office. His apartment was empty, dark, and cold. Every couple cuddling close on the rain-slicked streets was certainly there to mock him. And he had work to do, so why bother leaving? The prematurely worn-out man flicked on his deskside lamp and began unpacking black and white and black and white files from his briefcase as he once again elected to work late over going home. His boss would surely thank him, as would his clients. At least he was making some positive impact in the world - in comparison, failing to make his Kenton happy was a minor error in what otherwise promised to be a lifetime of good service to this country and her people.

Rei knew in his heart that it was a load of bloody nonsense. At nearly 31 years old, he was lonely, miserable, and burnt-out, and everyone around him was well aware of the fact. He heaved a great sigh, and his melancholy was interrupted by the shrill ring of his phone. Upon reading the name displayed across the screen, he warily answered.

“Hello, this is Rei Ryuugazaki speaking,” he announced without fanfare.

 _“Bro, you have_ got _to work on your coping skills,”_ came the dissatisfied voice of his older brother, Daiki. Rei’s eyebrows creased.

“Do you have anything pressing to tell me, or can I get back to work?” he replied harshly.

 _“Chill out, Mom wants to talk to you.”_ His frown deepened, and he realized his day couldn’t possibly get any worse. The other end of the line crackled slightly as the phone changed hands.

 _“Rei, darling, have you been eating well?”_ came the lyrically accented English of his mother. _“I worry about you. You’re looking so thin.”_ He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn’t get a word in edgewise, as was typical with Mrs. Ryuugazaki. _“Your father and I will be back home soon, and we’re coming by to check on you. Honestly, you need to get over than wretched man. He hadn’t any good sense at all,”_ she insisted.

“Mother, please,” he snapped, “this is hardly the time to be discussing Kenton. I’m in the middle of work -”

 _“No you aren’t, you should have been home ages ago. Now as I was saying, you’re almost thirty-one. You should be settled by now. Now, I researched some dating websites, and I think that -”_ Rei could hardly stand their meddling. His brows dove below his glasses.

“Sorry, a colleague is calling,” he lied, simply deciding to speak over her, and hung up. He buried his face in his hands, though he very well should have been buried in work. He wouldn’t be half so miserable, he thought, if only they’d stop bringing it up every other time they spoke to him. From over his shoulder, a concerned voice sounded.

“Rei, shouldn’t you be headed home soon?” His blue eyes found those of Makoto Tachibana’s, an animal rights lawyer from a few offices down. His soft, tanned face held a gently sympathetic smile. Evidently, he’d at least heard the end of the conversation. The black-haired man sighed deeply.

“I suppose I wasn’t far off the mark, then. What can I do for you, Makoto?” he asked, immediately switching into a more professional tone as he invited his coworker in. Along with their Japanese heritage and age, they shared very similar professions - animal rights was often likened to Rei’s expertise in criminal law - and the pair had fast become friends.

“Well, it would be nice if you went home early tonight. I noticed the light on in here, and I was worried about you,” Makoto explained, his pleasant smile not once leaving his face. Rei felt himself relax slightly.

“You may be right. It’s not as though I was going to get any more work done after that ordeal.” He carefully placed his documents into his briefcase alongside his laptop and unfinished crossword, slipped his suit jacket and coat on, and, nodding goodbye to his colleague, left the building.

Parking hadn’t gone very well that morning and, reluctant to head home anyhow, Rei wandered the streets for awhile before deciding to go to the coffee shop he often frequented in the morning. It was late now, but he wouldn’t mind a nice cup of tea and a chance to finish the crossword puzzle. He could do his work at home - maybe it’d distract him from the fact that his life was completely devoid of happiness.

Rei sat beside the window, keeping his dark eyes away from the streaking rain by focusing them on the soft colors of the newspaper and the logic of the riddles in the crossword section. No, there was nothing more soothing to the busied mind than this. He could ignore the emptiness in his heart with ease. No grinding of coffee beans, nor jingle of the storefront door, could interrupt him as he worked his way down and around the paper. At last, he came to a clue that couldn’t be more obvious: “a gaggle of interesting characters appear in this 1930’s Western classic.” Ignoring the muttering of some ne’er-do-well behind him, he murmured with satisfaction the name of a movie he was quite fond of: “Stagecoach.” It should have been left with that.

Instead, he felt a whip of wind at the back of his head and a voice far too loud for the quiet of the evening demanded, “What was that?” Cross at the interruption, Rei turned to face the offender, but found his jaw go slack at the sight that faced him.

A young man, blond, that could have been anywhere from his late teens to mid-twenties, faced him with sparkling eyes. Judging by the semi-professional attire, the attorney would err on the older side, if he had to guess. Automatically, he made some sort of reply. As soon as the words left his mouth, Rei hadn’t a clue what he’d said. Oh, God, he hoped he hadn’t scolded the man for his noise level, or upset him. But the blond responded quite on the contrary. The young man’s face lit up with a smile. His rosey eyes and straw locks lent him the warmth of summer.

“Is that the crossword you’re working on? Mind if I join you?” The attorney didn’t have time to say yes or no before he hopped over and sat right across from him, copying his answers without restraint. The older man glanced between him and his newspaper before finally joining him. His heart beat harder against his ribs than it had during yesterday’s closing statements. The soft voice across from him asked, “You don’t have 21 across, do you?” Rei took a deep breath, attempting to compose himself at least a little before opening his mouth.

“No, not yet,” he replied in a steady voice that didn’t match his mood at all. He could feel heat creeping along his his ears as the blond scrutinized him. He pretended not to notice, and read the clue. “‘Relax soldier’, with ‘t’ as the second letter.”

“Oh!” the young man exclaimed pleasantly. “At ease!” His curiosity getting the better of him, he shot a questioning glance over the rim of his glasses. Graciously, he explained: “My father was in the military. We had to sit all stiff like to salute him until he said ‘at ease’ and then we’d all relax.” Rei nodded. He hadn’t expected him to come from a military family - and it sounded as though he had at least one sibling. Judging from the lovely lilt to his accent, he’d come from the north. While he was musing, the blond pressed on. “‘Chemically quiet’,” he read.

“Inert,” the brunet replied easily. Feeling as though it was unfair he’d figured out so much about the boy without offering anything in return, he gave a snippet of himself away. “I took a few biochemical engineering classes.”

“‘Watson’s companion,’” repeated the blond. Before he could stop himself, Rei blurted the answer.

“Holmes!” For the first time that evening, the attorney met the inquisitive rosegold eyes of his partner, accompanied by the slight tilt of his plush lips in a smile, and the brunet had the sense to be embarrassed. “I loved the Sherlock Holmes books,” he offered by way of explanation. They’d given him the kick he’d needed to pursue justice as opposed to medicine, as his parents had expected.

The disappearance of the smile on the sunny man’s face caught his attention. He was pouting.

“It was my turn to guess! You cut!” he protested playfully. Rei found himself smiling before he could stop himself, and he relaxed.

“It seems I have. Please, proceed.”

The pair finished the crossword much more quickly than Rei would have liked, having strangely enjoyed the pretty man’s company so thoroughly that he hadn’t noticed the passing of the hour. The brunet could have spent all night in the good company, but it was not meant to be.

“Oh,” the blond exclaimed quietly when he saw the time. “It’s late. Sorry,” he stood, “but I have to go.” And as Rei watched his retreating form, he couldn’t help but wonder if love had passed him by. He shook his head. What a preposterous thought! There wasn’t such a thing as fate, destiny, or love at first sight. Following suit, he packed away his things and began to make his way home - but as he passed by the recycling bin beside the storefront’s door, he couldn’t throw away the puzzle and found himself tucking the one page safely away in his breast pocket before ridding himself of the remainder of the paper.

When he got home, the attorney couldn’t quite place how he felt. Thinking on the blond as a brief burst of infatuation, he decided that he was relieved. Love would certainly come his way again, he convinced himself as he placed the crossword in his desk drawer, shutting it away for when he’d next need hope to get through the day.

 


End file.
